Saturday, December 20, 2014

Terraforming

The beavers have been actively working to create a new "pond" area. It has been interesting to watch over a couple of years as they have built step down ponds in the wetlands. The area they flooded last year has essentially gone dry this year as the creek has reverted to its original course of flow.

The beavers are now working on a series of mini ponds on the opposite side of the wetlands which is the natural flow of the creek. During periods of heavy rain, portions of the dam will get washed away but the beavers will generally quickly repair the area.

In their latest effort, and while there are sections where tree limbs have been used, the majority of this dam building is using packed mud. They are truly nature's engineers.